4:10:21

I completed the half marathon!

With all the horrendous weather reports, I woke up to partly cloudy skies and dry weather. It had rained over night, but seemed to be past for now. They did start the race 45 minutes early hoping to skip the second wave of storms coming later in the day. It was actually a beautiful morning, with the sun breaking through the clouds just as we reached the top of the first hill and could look down on downtown.



The experience was amazing! They had bands playing every mile or so, plus the spectators were a sight to see themselves. It felt like a carnival! The first few miles flew by and we were hitting a good pace.



The course looped around on itself and when I hit the approximately 3 mile mark, I could see both the people who were behind me at the one mile mark (on the overpass) and the faster runners going underneath me at the 10 mile mark:



The rain did start during mile 9. It started light, but slowly started coming down more heavily. In the middle of mile 10, the police recommended we take cover for a severe storm. We stopped for a while in a warehouse (actually, you can almost see the warehouse we stopped at the picture above near the stop sign on the left). Here we are taking cover:



After a few minutes, we didn't think the storm was that severe and kept going. With wet shoes and the inclination to keep our heads down to avoid the rain, I was feeling the last few miles hard. Then a police officer told us a second wave of storms was coming and they were talking about closing the course at that time. We had better hurry if we wanted to finish. With that extra motivation, my friend and I found our pace again and finished the race strong.

It was a great day that ended with a foot massage and my favorite ice cream. My legs are a bit sore today, but am feeling good and proud of myself.

I am already thinking ahead to next year. I definitely want to do this again another time. But I need another challenge. I'm thinking of joining this group for the half marathon next year:

Double ACK!

I've had quite an afternoon. Actually, I didn't really do much other than procrastinate at work, but it seemed eventful with all the things running around in my head.

First, I found out my very favorite band, the Barenaked Ladies, will be giving a concert in my hometown at this great venue. I am semi-obsessed with BNL and this venue would be an awesome place to see the show. Of course they give great shows anyway! The catch? It is during a week when I am scheduled to be about 3 hours away for work. I am driving there, so am thinking maybe there is a way I can go up Sunday, come back Monday afternoon, and then drive during the night to make it back for a Tuesday morning meeting. Is that crazy? I've been trying to find other places where I could go see them, from a city a few hours away where DH and I could take a long weekend trip, to cities several states away where I could try to arrange a trip to see my sister or cousin! I told you I am obsessed. But the venue here would be the best.

After I calmed down about potentially them in my own city, I checked the weather for this weekend. My half marathon is on Saturday and they have been forecasting rain. Of course it is so hard to forecast several days ahead, so I figure today's might actually be somewhat accurate. And what do you know, but the first thing I saw was a special weather statement! Not just thunderstorms, but severe storms, hail, and possibly tornadoes! I'm panicking and trying to figure out what to wear. I am not experienced in marathons at all, so this is all new.

I picked up my race bib tonight and they did have a booth selling these white hazmat looking suits that are supposed to be rain proof. I could not bring myself to buy them just for the look of it. DH was giving me a hard time b/c he has no problem looking foolish to stay comfortable in severe weather, but my California upbringing makes severe weather so unlikely that the concept of looking foolish for it does not make sense. I did not buy it, but am thinking of going back tomorrow for it.

More randomness

My second acupuncture appointment is done. Today he tried something different and had me lay on my stomach while he put needles in my back. Still very relaxing.

I have two daffodils blooming in my yard! Last fall was my first attempt at planting flowers for spring color. I'm so proud. They look great. The only problem is that I can't figure out why only the bulbs I planted on the right side of the house are sprouting, none on the left side. It's a puzzle to me. I haven't seen any budding on my blueberry bush, so I hope that survived it's first winter in my yard. It was a very cold winter.

Speaking of cold winters, our heating bills have actually gone down due to insulation we put in last fall. Our February bill went down 17%, even though the number of days between readings was 10% higher and the temperature was colder this year. So our investment was well worth it.

Marathon training has not been going so well. My left hip muscle is hurting me. Ugh.

Walking

After resting yesterday, today I am back to my half-marathon training. I walked 4 miles today. It took me a little over an hour, so that is a pretty good pace. The coaches said today that they want us to go no more than 18 minutes a mile, and I was definitely above that. One thing I like about this training is that it is getting me up and out of the house early. My plan was to stop by the jewelry store afterward to pick up a necklace that was getting fixed and even though I chatted a bit and took my time after finishing, when I got to the shopping center everything was still closed. I just had to wait about 10 minutes for things to open, so it wasn't that bad.

We finally took down our outdoor Christmas lights today. I know, I know, this was way late. But we haven't been turning them on and previously took down everything we could without a ladder. Today was just the row of icicle lights along the gutter and upstairs window. It was the first weekend when it was above 15 degrees and not raining, so that was our excuse!

I was talking with DH about his experience for the IUI yesterday. It was funny b/c he complained more about the magazines in the general waiting room than in his special room. I guess they updated the offerings in the collection room. But all the magazines in the general waiting room were female-oriented so he wished they had a sports magazine or something to pass the time. I can see his point, but was also like, "look, I have to scrounge around for the one magazine that is not pregnancy or baby oriented, so you my options aren't much better."

3 miles in the snow

I just finished my first training for the half marathon. We walked 3 miles in 17 degree weather and light snow! It actually wasn't as bad as that might sound. They gave us hand warmers and I put them in my shoes instead. That made all the difference.

I am also being open to people about why I'm doing this. In some ways I feel out of place because most people are motivated due to themselves or someone close to them who has/had cancer and they want to fundraise for it. But I just need a goal to accomplish in case I can't reach my other goal. I told some of the women I was walking with today about my reasons and it felt great to be so open about it. Although it is easier since I don't interact with these people at work or in other situations. One woman even reminded me about the support at the integrative health center they have here. She goes there for non-IF related support, but knows they have IF stuff as well. I heard about it several months ago and decided to do it once we started IUI and then forgot.

The rest of the day should be good as well. We are going to buy some new dressers. Very exciting to get something new for our house.

It's On! (x 2)

Today marks the start of our first IUI cycle. I'm excited to finally be here. Clomid starts on Sunday.

Unless I hear otherwise from my doctor, tomorrow marks the start of my training to walk a half marathon in April. There is a group at my job that is doing this, not really anyone I know, but it still got me interested. My weight loss has stagnated since late summer, so I feel like I need a change. I also feel like I need a goal to work towards. I have spent the past two years putting things off and not trying to achieve things because in the back of my mind I thought I would be pregnant soon. I feel like I haven't really accomplished much during this time. Maybe I will have to quit the half marathon if I do get pregnant. But if I'm still not pregnant by April, at least I will have another accomplishment waiting for me right around the corner.